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societies

Does "societies" here mean "nations" ? But there is no such meaning in the dictionaries.

(context: A revolution is coming in the field of global education. Up to now, all leading universities have relied primarily on the deep Western pool of wisdom to provide both the method and content of their educational systems. This made sense. Western education created the most successful societies humankind has ever seen. )

Re: societies

.
Not 'nations' necessarily, though there is considerable overlap. Here,

society = 1b. A group of humans broadly distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture. c. The institutions and culture of a distinct self-perpetuating group. (Am Heritage Dict)

For example, one 'society' in this passage may be meant to refer to e.g. British, English-Canadian and American peoples as a single group.
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